FOPU Fort Pulaski National Monument will offer six days of programming in April 2012 to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Siege & Reduction of Fort Pulaski. A diverse array of activities will be offered to recognize the Battle of Fort Pulaski in 1862. Activities will take place from April 10th to April 15th. For nearly two months, Union troops erected 36 guns in 11 batteries on the western shore of Tybee Island. The Union cannon on Tybee Island, over a mile away, converged on Fort Pulaski on April 10, 1862. After 30 hours, the brick walls of the Fort were breached, and the Confederate fort surrendered. The historic battle featured the first significant use of rifled artillery against a masonry fort and had international ramifications on the future design and construction of coastal forts. A schedule of the Battle of Fort Pulaski 150th Anniversary Programs follows: Tuesday, April 10 11:00 AM Fort Pulaski Naval Campaign - Boat Tour Join us for a tour of Fort Pulaski from the water. The naval campaign for Fort Pulaski was as important to the Union victory as the much-vaunted rifled artillery. Faced with confusing channels, treacherous tides and a fort bristling with powerful cannons, the Union Navy was still able to encircle and isolate the fort. We will get a small taste of naval operations as we wind through Lazaretto Creek, the "back door" to the fort from Savannah, and cruise around the eastern edge of Cockspur Island past the historic North Wharf. The tour lasts approximately 2.5 hours. Admission: $5.00. Limited seating. Advance reservation required. Ken Johnston, Executive Director, National Civil War Naval Museum Ken Johnston has worked in third person historic interpretation at Callaway Gardens, the Atlanta History Center, the Rural Florida Living History Museum, Colonial Williamsburg, and Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens. At the National Civil War Naval Museum, he tells the stories of sailors, soldiers, slaves, and civilians in relation to the Navies of the Civil War. He received a Certificate in Historical Interpretation by the nationally acclaimed training program at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Free Admission. Wednesday, April 11 11:00 AM Fort Pulaski Naval Campaign - Boat Tour See Tuesday's listing for description. 7:00 PM Life in Civil War Savannah - Casemate Lecture Talley Kirkland served as a Park Ranger at Fort Pulaski National Monument for 32 years. After retiring from the National Park Service in 2005, he went on to work for the Georgia State Parks at Fort McAllister Historic State Park. With about 40 years of experience interpreting the history of Georgia's civil war forts, Kirkland is an expert on the Civil War in coastal Georgia. Free Admission. Thursday, April 12 7:45 PM Savannah in the Civil War - Film Premiere Fort Pulaski National Monument will host the premiere of the latest historical documentary produced by Cosmos Mariner Productions. "Savannah in the Civil War" will be shown for the first time as a part of the civil war fort's commemoration of its great battle in 1862. The film is approximately 90 minutes long. It will be available for sale in the park's gift shop. Admission: $5.00. Friday, April 13 1:30 PM Commemoration of 150th Anniversary of Hunter's General Order No. 7 Following the Union capture of Fort Pulaski during the Civil War, Major General David Hunter issued General Order No. 7, freeing those enslaved at the fort and on Cockspur Island. Hunter's order coincided with his recruitment of formerly enslaved African Americans to create a new regiment. His efforts led to the formation of one of the Union's first African American regiments - the 1st South Carolina Infantry. Representatives from the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C. will provide a special film and presentation on the African American soldiers of the Civil War. There will be a special program by the 54th Massachusetts, Civil War Re-enactment Regiment. Admission: $5.00 
Saturday, April 14 & Sunday, April 15 The living history event will take place on Saturday, April 14 and Sunday, April 15. Programs will take place at two locations within Fort Pulaski National Monument and at Battery Park on Tybee Island, Georgia. The schedule is subject to change; please refer to this page for any last minute changes. Admission: $5.00 Saturday, April 14 Fort Pulaski (Confederate camp inside fort) Camp Tybee (Union camp outside fort) Battery Park (Union weapons demonstrations) Sunday, April 15 9:30 AM Memorial to the Fallen - wreath laying and military salute Fort Pulaski (Confederate camp inside fort) Camp Tybee (Union camp outside fort) Battery Park (Union weapons demonstrations) |
Last updated: March 2, 2018